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Preparation

For cake:

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Butter and flour two 9-inch-diameter cake pans with 1 1/2-inch-high sides. Sift first 8 ingredients into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat sugar and oil in large bowl until well blended, about 2 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add pumpkin and vanilla; beat until blended. Gradually add dry ingredients; beat just until incorporated. Divide batter between prepared pans; smooth top with spatula.

Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool completely in pans on racks. Run small knife around cakes to loosen. Turn cakes out onto racks.

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Recent Reviews

Fabulous recipe. I used fresh baked pie pumpkin which also makes it even more special. Lovely flavour!!!!!

cpetre from Shawn ON /

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This was a relatively tasty cake, but is a huge amount of work. The best tasting part is the caramel icing, but as others have pointed out, it ends up as more of a caramel sauce that droops down the side.

rogecr /

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I submitted a review
before rating the
recipe, and as a
result, my rating
didn't appear with
my review, so here
it is.

A Cook from Naples, FL /

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The flavor of the
cake itself was OK
(I used pecans
instead of walnuts),
but overall, this
recipe is not worth
the time it takes.
Also, I don't
understand how a
recipe with serious
flaws regarding the
icing can be given
4 forks. In general,
this cake is a
seasonal variation
of German's Sweet
Chocolate cake. The
icing is very tricky
to make, and I
wonder if it really
can be all things:
gooey enough for a
filling, smooth
enough for the top
of the cake, and
firm enough to
adhere to the sides
without running
down. At first I
thought I had gotten
my "amber syrup" too
dark, and I was
going to end up with
caramel candy in my
icing. I beat in the
cream cheese mixture
furiously, and I
ended up with a
warm, gooey icing
that flowed nicely
over the top of the
cake and down the
sides in a few
places. (It would
have been helpful if
the directions had
included a target
temperature or a
"ball" stage.) I
should have just
poured more icing
over the top and
covered all of the
sides in this
manner, because the
icing never did firm
up sufficiently in
the refrigerator to
coat the sides
well--or cover up
the gap between the
two layers, due to
the thick filling
(note gap in photo).
The strips of orange
people sprinkled on
top add visual
appeal and flavor,
but if you follow
the directions, the
freshly cut orange
strips are put on at
the last minute.
After a few hours,
they wither and no
longer look
appetizing. I think
the strips should
bathe in some kind
of a syrup in order
to preserve them.
This cake has so
much goo, I didn't
serve it with the
warmed, reserved
caramel icing.

A Cook from Naples, FL /

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I just made the cake
part of this recipe
and thought it was
great/very moist. I
made the batter into
cupcakes and made a
few changes. Used
whole wheat pastry
flour instead of
cake flour, subbed
Agave syrup for the
sugar, reduced oil
to 2/3 C. Baked at
325 for about 22
minutes. The
cupcakes rose nicely
and have a lovely
pumpkin flavor. I
used a standard
cream cheese
frosting, since they
are for a 4 yr. old
birthday party.